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SCREEN COMPARISON - 16" MBP vs. 15" MBA
- Thread starter mstgkillr
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If you are concerned about flicker on 16" MBP vs the 15" MBA, I wouldn't concern myself with PWM. Instead, I'd look into the relative extent of FRC on those two machines:
I don't think the flicker seen on Mac LCD screens is due to PWM. That can be an issue on OLEDs, since it's typically in the 100's of Hz, which can be noticeable to some. But LCD PWM frequencies are far higher. For instance Notebookcheck lists the PWM frequency for the 14" & 16" M1 MacBook Pro LCD screens as 14,880 Hz, which shouldn't be detectable.
My guess is thus that it's instead due to FRC. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frame_rate_control#:~:text=FRC is a form of,(half frame rate) flicker ):
"FRC is a form of temporal dithering which cycles between different color shades with each new frame to simulate an intermediate shade. This can create a potentially noticeable 30 Hz (half frame rate) flicker. FRC tends to be most noticeable in darker tones, while dithering appears to make the individual pixels of the LCD visible. TFT panels available in 2020 often used FRC to display 30-bit deep color or HDR10 with 24-bit color panels."
Note: By "30 bit" and "24 bit" color, they mean what is also designated as 10 bits and 8 bits, respectively, since they are multiplying the bit depth by 3 colors/pixel.
now having had both computers (15 MBA and 14 Pro) there is zero comparison, the 14 Pro is much brighter, colors richer. And text, more crisp and clear.
I wouldn't want to lug a 14" around Europe.
This person nailed it.
i lugged my 14 around europe couple of times, coming from a 13inch mba, the weight difference was marginal.
I have to agree, I don't have the 14" anymore but have had the 15" for a day, text is just not as good against my 24" iMac and my 11" iPad Pro. It's not bad but just not as clear.
If you had nothing to compare it with maybe wouldn't notice.
I just dont fine the 14 ANY issue whatsoever to travel with.. I am on a trip right now, numerous boats, planes, no issue
I bought my wife the 15" MBA. I got her the 16GB/512GB variant. It's replacing her 15" MBP (2016). I don't want to hijack the MacBook Pro thread, but she's super happy with it. And it's remarkably responsive, even compared to my 14" M1 Pro.
same here, my mbp 14 has gone through 2 continents and back, countless trips to the office and back, no problem, but what can i say some folks on here like to split hair and make a marginal weight difference a much bigger issue than what it is.
there is 100g difference between the 14 MBP and the 15" air. this statement is ludicrous
I have both the MBP 16" and MBA 15", and have been putting it through some tests to see which one I will keep.
The Macbook Air 15" screen is great. IF you haven't really seen the 16" MBP screen, you would be happy. But when you compare the 2 side by side, you WILL see the difference.
It's not noticeable when the images are bright. Colors pop and there's little conceivable difference from the MBP. The MBA looks great here. Text, at least to me, both look great. I give a slightest edge to the MBP, but MBA text is sharp and clear.
You will notice the difference when you view images/videos with dark scenes. Notice how much more contrast you get from the MBP. The blacks are washed out in the MBA.
When you watch HDR content, you will notice that the MBP is brighter, although not by as much as you would think. Some highlights (sun, street lights) will appear brighter. But the MBA gets plenty bright, even when capped out at 500nits. Certain videos can make the MBP get super bright , but for most content, it's not that noticeable.
Promotion is also noticeable, but in reality, it doesn't make much of a difference as you are viewing static content most of the time. Even watching videos/movies you won't notice any motion difference. It's only in strolling and moving content around the screen.
The Macbook Air 15" screen is great. IF you haven't really seen the 16" MBP screen, you would be happy. But when you compare the 2 side by side, you WILL see the difference.
It's not noticeable when the images are bright. Colors pop and there's little conceivable difference from the MBP. The MBA looks great here. Text, at least to me, both look great. I give a slightest edge to the MBP, but MBA text is sharp and clear.
You will notice the difference when you view images/videos with dark scenes. Notice how much more contrast you get from the MBP. The blacks are washed out in the MBA.
When you watch HDR content, you will notice that the MBP is brighter, although not by as much as you would think. Some highlights (sun, street lights) will appear brighter. But the MBA gets plenty bright, even when capped out at 500nits. Certain videos can make the MBP get super bright , but for most content, it's not that noticeable.
Promotion is also noticeable, but in reality, it doesn't make much of a difference as you are viewing static content most of the time. Even watching videos/movies you won't notice any motion difference. It's only in strolling and moving content around the screen.
It's such an interesting dynamic between size, weight and price. I lucked out and got a 16 MBP from an amazing deal on micro center. My brother went with the air 15 and he paid more than me. I beyond ecstatic with the 16 but he didnt want to budge on the size and weight. That was more important to him, for me it was the better screen and the pro features.
and this video is saying the 14 MBP is all around a better machine - although the 15 does great.
In my experience, text and line art are the things that stand out in high resolution more than anything else. Pixels in images tend to blend together, but hard line stuff is really a torture test for a display. I'm stuck with a 27" 1440p display at work, and I barely notice in Photoshop but it kills me in Illustrator and I find myself having to zoom in a lot to see smaller details that would be easy on a retina display.
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